Tech Tip: Twitter Follow

DBo

I decided to follow President Boren on twitter! I think that he is so great... and also adorable!

I admire his love for the university and the Norman community! He has had to make a lot of tough calls over his years of being the president, but he does a great job! He is awesome!

Reading notes: Public Domain Ramayana, Part B

Rama shows great strength and honor when he denies coming back. He was exiled for a reason, and just because Dasharatha has died, it does not mean that he can come back. Having Rama give Bharata his golden sandals will allow people that once loved Rama know that he is still there. Rama is showing that he is noble. This is an admirable trait for a character and I will incorporate this into my story.

Rama and Sita in the forest

Shurpanakha seems like an antagonist in this story as she is trying to seduce Rama, a loyal and married man. It mentions how ugly she is and that her heart is filled of love for Rama. She is going to pursue Rama, but the feelings are not reciprocated. In my story, I could make Rama be seduced by Shurpanakha and make there be almost a love triangle and he has to chose which woman he loves more. He would choose Sita, but there would be this conflict that would add some drama to the story. There is later a fight and Shurpanakha is humiliated and jealous and wishes to get revenge.

I like to see conflict due to power/love so this part of the story is very interesting for me. A battle begins and Rama has so much love for Sita that he needs to protect her before the fight breaks out. He must live in order to be with his beloved wife. Rama won the battle. In my story, I was thinking that I could write that somehow Sita had been captured by Khara and Rama would have to obey Khara to get Sita back, which means Rama could easily get hurt. Due to him having great power, Rama would win the battle and continue to love Sita. Having this occur would create possible trust issues between Rama and Lakshmana, whom he told to secure Sita, and this would create tension.

I can see my story going along the lines of Rama being the main character and him having to choose between a lot of difficult decisions, but he chooses the right one every time. It would create drama and a more modern twist on a love story.

Bibliography

Public Domain Ramayana written by Donald A. Mackenzie and Romesh Dutt

online reading link

Reading Notes: Public Domain Ramayana, Part A

Sita is the 8^th chapter of the Ramayana from the online version. I like how much detail is put into everything. Almost every sentence describes the location or how everything looks in such a specific way. I can truly picture what Rama and his brother Lakshmana look like when they are walking down the street and everyone is staring at them. I love how even the people in the street know that he is meant for Sita. When Sita sees the princes and Rama hears Sita, it is almost love at first sight/hearing. They know they are meant to be together. I could write a story about Sita and Rama seeing each other, but realizing it takes a lot more to fall in love. Eventually they would be together but it would take time rather than 2 seconds.

 Rama eventually wins Sita throughout the next two chapters. The words used in the 10^th chapter, Rama Wins Sita, are so descriptive and I really like this. I can feel, see, and hear what is going on just from reading the story. In my story, I will strive to make sentences that work towards helping the reader feel what is going on rather than solely reading it. I want to be descriptive in my word choice.

The lovely couple, Rama and Sita 

After the wedding, Dasharatha claimed Rama as his Heir Apparent. He had four options. He simply chose him due to everyone liking him but he wanted approval. Instead of choosing this way, an interesting way would be to conduct a test to see which son would be the most successful heir apparent. This would create tension, drama, and suspense.

Later, Rama is banished. He seems to take this news with pride and knows there must be a reason for this decision.

 “All the royal attendants wept, but Rama was unmoved as is the ocean when a pot of water is drawn from it or poured in” (finishing line of Rama's banishment)

This shows how loyal and respectful Rama is of the decisions made.

Throughout all of the chapters I read, I was most interested in the story plot with Rama and his wife Rita and the power he gained. The stories have great detail and such great word choice that it allows the reader to fully understand what is happening. You are able to feel the happiness or pain as well. I hope to evoke this through my writing.

Bibliography

Public Domain Ramayana by Gould, Donald A. Mackenzie, Romesh Dutt, and Sister Nivedita, online reading

Famous Last Words: Syllabus Week

So my second semester of my sophomore year just started. So far so good! All of my professors seem nice and knowledgeable (which is always a good thing for a professor at a university). I recently changed my major so I am enjoying what my new “life” has to offer. I am really enjoying my schedule for this semester. It begins at 8:30 (which is pretty early for me) but finishes at 11:45! That means I can come home and take a nap if I wanted to!

This week there was no reading for this class. Tomorrow I start reading the Ramayana. I’m looking forward to that. My favorite writing that I did for this week was my introduction to myself. I had a fun time writing about my life and sharing it with my classmates. It also gave me an excuse to look for cute pictures of all of my animals to include in the post! My group for this first week consists of some great people and writers! They seem so talented and I am looking forward to reading more of their blog posts.

This week in the real world was pretty crazy! Donald Trump was sworn in as president and a lot of people had very strong opinions of the whole ordeal. I actually watched some of the inauguration. This one the first one that I actually remember/was able to watch live. Since my classes get out so early I was able to watch it. The last inauguration happened during a high school school day, so I couldn’t watch. I hope President Trump serves this country well.

For the upcoming week, I am going to try to get my course work for this class finished as soon as possible! I need to make this class a priority and I plan on executing that this week!

A cat completing their assigned blog posts for the week!

Tech Tip: Blogger Template!

Attention! I have changed my blog template!!

Not very exciting news but you can do it too! It's very simple! Click template on the left hand side menu and just click on the different ones until you find one that you like (except don't use Dynamic Views). The one I chose is a blue sky with a dandelion and grass. I thought that it was aesthetically pleasing and just super cute! 

Thanks for checking out this blog post! 

Dandelion

Growth Mindset

Carol Dweck's idea of growth mindset is really important. I think that she provides an alternate way of learning and developing.

Last semester I was in physiology and my professor gave us an extra credit assignment that was all about the growth mindset. It was a website where you took a quiz and it told you if you had a growth, fixed, or in between mindset. It was very eye opening. My results showed that I was in between. It mentioned how I was not using my full potential and that really made me think. I always thought of myself as trying the best I could and using every tool to learn, but these results allowed me to see that this isn't always true. After analyzing the results, I tried to learn and study in different ways and it helped! It helped me see that if I fail or don't do the best on an assignment, it doesn't define me but should rather push me to do better next time.

growth mindset

As previously mentioned in an earlier blog post, I just switched majors! My goals for this semester include trying to get a 4.0 GPA. I have yet to reach this goal in college and I really hope that I am able to achieve it! Following the growth mindset will help me reach this goal!

Time Strategies!

I would say that I am decent at managing my time. I always get my work done in a timely matter, it just may be completed at a time later than I had originally planned. After reading 11 Ways Unsuccessful People Mismanage Their Time, I was able to see some ways to help me be better at time management.

The title of the article I read seemed a little harsh, but it was very informational and I am glad I chose to read this article! I can relate to quite a few of the examples in the article. The first one I noticed is the section about keeping a good record. I usually take notes in my phone to what I need to accomplish that day, but this is not the best strategy. I plan on going to Target and buying a nice planner so I can physically write in it and make it an important part in planning my day. Another example I related to was about procrastination. I tend to work ahead on most things, but when I don't it bites me in the butt. This semester I have noticed that most of my assignments for all of my classes are due on Sunday, so it will be very important to get work finished ahead of time so I am not cramming at the end of my weekend. An interesting part of the article says "They don't have rituals". This refers to getting up and have your daily cup of coffee or anything along those lines. I often find myself playing my day by ear rather than following the same exact routine. This week I will try to begin a ritual (such as treating myself to Starbucks after class) and see if this improves my time management!

Motivation

In the article it states that some people do not allow themselves to have fun time. This is the opposite for me. I feel as if I give myself too much fun time. This includes watching too much Netflix or going on Hurts runs with my roommate. I should manage this more. I know I need to allow myself to have fun, but it needs its limitations.

After reading the article, I have seen what changes I need to make. Hopefully I will be a better time manager and thus become a better student!